Update 2: Our pre-application is in - and we've had our first conversation with planning

If you've been following the Jersey Model Village & Miniature Railway from the start, you'll know that planning permission is the single biggest hurdle between this project and breaking ground. In fact, we have the capital and the motivation - this is essentially the main hurdle.

Last month we formally submitted a pre-application enquiry to the Jersey planning department, and shortly after, a wonderful planning officer visited the site at Home Farm in St John.

For those new here - a pre-application is essentially a conversation with planning before a formal application is submitted. They help us understand where the potential issues are and how best to frame our application when we come to the full submission.

The site visit itself was a positive experience. The planning officer was extremely helpful and answered a lot of our questions. Walking the site and talking through the vision for a garden-first attraction made for a much more candid conversation than sending emails and documents back and forth.

We're under no illusions that this is straightforward. There are parts of the Bridging Island Plan that are naturally supportive - investing in the visitor economy and things to do on our island - but the site sits within the Green Zone and on an agricultural field, and any development proposal has to clear a high bar of justification. That's as it should be. The Green Zone exists for good reasons, and our job is to make a well-evidenced case that a low-impact, family-oriented attraction can sit within that landscape without compromising it - and ideally, enhance it.

We're now awaiting their formal response. More to come soon.

Any questions? Get in touch via the Contact page.